The invention addresses problems relating to seepage of water into buildings along walls and flooring, especially in basements. It has always been a problem in keeping water from leaking into basements or other rooms that are at or below ground level. Cracks frequently generate in the walls, which allow moisture to trickle in from the outside. Further, water can enter from the outside around the area at the juncture between the wall and footing. The moisture accumulates and results in puddles of water on the floor inside the building. There exist many systems that effectively address this problem, such as by providing means for collecting the moisture that seeps in along the walls, usually in the form of a perimeter channel excavated along the wall, and directing that collected moisture to a drainage pipe installed beneath the floor. These methods are commonly referred to as waterproofing a basement.
While these types of waterproofing methods are often effective, they are extremely labor intensive and produce a tremendous amount of debris from broken concrete and excavated dirt. This presents serious concerns from both economic and environmental standpoints. It is becomingly increasingly difficult to find affordable labor, much less willing labor, to carry out these methods given the physically demanding work required for excavating and installing such systems. This drives up the cost of these waterproofing systems. Additionally, the debris created from excavation must be transported to appropriate landfill sites. Such sites are typically located substantially remote from the job site, and frequent truckloads are generally required to haul off the debris, which is time consuming and expensive. This further drives up the cost of these systems.
Another problem to be dealt with when considering excavating for installing the drainage pipe used in these waterproofing systems relates to forces placed on the foundation wall. Damp expansive soil experts tremendous lateral pressure against the outside surface of the foundation wall, often resulting in a bowed-in wall. The intact contact floor acts as a barrier, which meets and opposes the pressure forces of the soil and keeps the wall from bowing in at its base. When a drainage pipe is installed, a substantial amount of the concrete floor is removed so that the drainage pipe may be laid down. Therefore, the barrier effect of the floor is compromised. While a thin layer of concrete is typically poured back in the floor after installation, it is usually insufficient to provide the desired resistance to the lateral stress from the outside soil. A further concern is that with the large opening in the floor for laying down the drainage pipe, the exposed ground soil has increased potential for releasing harmful Radon gas.
It would therefore be desirable to provide an effective method for waterproofing a foundation, wall or other structure that minimizes the debris created by, and labor involved in, excavating and installing a drainage pipe below the surface of the floor alongside the footing.
Further, it would be beneficial to provide a waterproofing method that preserves the structural integrity of the floor so that its ability to withstand the lateral stress placed by the outside soil on the foundation wall is not impaired. Further still, it would be beneficial to provide a waterproofing system that would minimize the amount of floor resulting in less labor to be excavated.